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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Vigil

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

01/26/08

HB 360

SHORT TITLE Las Vegas Special Olympics

SB

ANALYST Hanika-Ortiz

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY08

FY09

$75.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Relates to Appropriation in the General Appropriation Act

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department of Health (DOH)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 360 appropriates $75 thousand from the General Fund to DOH to Las Vegas Special

Olympics to support individuals with disabilities participating in the Las Vegas Special

Olympics.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $75 thousand contained in this bill and directed to DOH for the Las Vegas

Special Olympics, is a recurring expense to the General Fund. Any unexpended or

unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY09 shall revert to the General Fund.

The appropriation included in HB 360 is not part of DOH’s Executive Budget Request for

expenditure in FY09. Special Olympics currently has a $200 thousand appropriation through the

DOH to meet the above mentioned goals statewide. Both DFA and LFC maintained the $200

thousand in contracts within the base budget of DDSD. DOH claims that passage of this bill will

increase that to $275,000 under contracts, which will be placed in the base budget and become

recurring.

House Bill 360 – Page

2

The DOH is required to follow the procurement code when distributing funds greater than $30

thousand.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

House Bill 360 will target funding to Las Vegas Special Olympics for registration fees,

equipment, travel, board, lodging and uniforms for athletes with mental, physical or

developmental disabilities participating in Olympic-style competitive events.

Special Olympics training programs, local competitions and area level competitions are offered

at no cost to the athlete. Every athlete, however, is required to pay a registration fee or a lodging

fee for participation in state competitions. Many local Special Olympics programs conduct

fundraisers or arrange sponsorships by local businesses to underwrite all transportation and state

competition fees.

PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS

House Bill 360 relates to Program Area 7 and the goal of the DOH Strategic Plan to increase

independence and quality of life for individuals with developmental disabilities.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

The DOH will be required to administrate the funds.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

New Mexico is divided into six geographic areas which operate a year-round Special Olympics

program that serves over 2,400 athletes, offering training and competition in 15 sports. Prior to

any competition, all athletes engage in an extensive training program for a minimum of eight

weeks. Athletes develop fitness and sports skills, and learn rules and strategies from their

coaches, officials, and games management team members.

ALTERNATIVES

The new “self-directed" DD waiver program allows certain active waiver recipients to receive

funding to cover Special Olympics programming participation costs. This waiver should be

looked at as a source of funding especially for persons ages 8 and older that are eligible to

participate in Special Olympics.

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL

Additional funding may not be available to the Las Vegas Special Olympics to support

individuals with disabilities in Olympic style events.

QUESTIONS

How is the $200 thousand recurring funding DOH receives distributed between the regions.

AHO/mt